Youth participation in tackle football has been declining for years as medical studies have linked the sport with brain injury and long-term behavioral issues. But not all parents balance risks versus rewards the same way.
A four-month investigation by student journalists at the University of Maryland’s Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism and Howard Center for Investigative Journalism probes what parents know and how they make decisions about when – and if – their children should play tackle football.
In dozens of interviews with parents, coaches, youth players, medical researchers, former pro football players, and in reporting that includes an in-depth national public opinion poll of parents, the project reveals how tackle football represents opportunity in many communities. But decisions about whether to play vary by race and place.